On Sat, 1 Apr 1995 karensw at halcyon.halcyon.com wrote:

> Tweeters,
>
> I have seen a bird at my feeder in Everett several times that I'm having
> trouble indentifying. It has distinctive black and white bands over the head
> and face, and most closely resembles a Mountain Chickadee, but is too large.
> The best ID I can make is a Great Tit, listed in Peterson's as an accidental
> stray from Alaska. Does this seem like a reasonable ID? Thanks for any
> thoughts you may have about this.
>

and

>The rest of the body is as nondescript (to me) as a Mountain Chickadee. The
>only thing that stops me from making that ID is that this bird seems sparrow
>sized. It darts onto a platform feeder, grabs a seed, and darts away. I've
>not seen it away from the feeder.
>Thanks for your interest,
>
>Karen
>
>
>
My source says Great Tit is 5.5" Mt Chickadee is 5.5". The bits and
pieces of description you have offered do not suggest Great Tit.

My best guess is 1) Mountain Chickadee they look big especially if
you're used to Chestnut-backs.
2) White-breasted Nuthatch- These are just enough
different that they might set off one's imagination.


--
********************************
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * "Time flies like an arrow;
* mpatters at ednet1.osl.or.gov * fruit flies like a banana."
******************************** - Groucho Marx